Box-making machine.



H. A. INMAN. BOX MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED PBB.5, 1914. 1 098 386 Patented June 2, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Inventor Witnesses H. A. INMAN.

BOX MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED P315. 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Witnsses Attorneys Paten ted June 2,1914.

25 product.

HARRY A. INMAN, F AMSTERDAM, 1\TEW YORK.

BOX-MAKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 2, 1914.

Application filed February 5, 191 1. Serial No. 816,793.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY A. INMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Amsterdam, in the county of Montgomery and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Box-Making Machine, of which the followmg 1s a specification.

The present invention relates to improvev ments in box making machines, and relates more particularly to a machine for gumming, taping and sizing the gum to render it in the desired tacky condition, folding the blank and shaping the same into box shape and delivering such folded and shaped box adjacent the entry end for the blank,

the primary object of the invention being the provision of a mechanism which produces a continuous operation or action upon the blank from the point of introduction of a flat blank to the gumming and taping mechanism to its final counting and inspection, thus rendering it.possible for one or two operatives to properly feed the blank and to finally count and inspect the finished With the foregoing and other objects in 7 view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the comblnation and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it' being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawingsFigure 1 is a side elevation of the complete machine, the same being broken away intermediate of its ends to foreshorten the same. Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the machine as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Referringto the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the base which has upstanding therefrom, the two frame plates 2 and 2 5 which constitute a proper support for the complete machine. At the forward end of the supporting frame is mounted two posts 3 which carry the shelf 1' for the sliding reception of the blank feeding means or plate 5 which is operated by meansof the rock shaft 6 and link 7 from the main drive shaft 9 of the present mechanism. This link is connected to the gear 8 keyed upon the main drive shaft 9 andparticularly illustrated in Fig. 1.

The shaft 9, as clearly illustrated in Fig.

2, has mounted thereupon through a manually controlled clutch mechanism, a drive pulley 10 which receives its motion from the belt 11 and in this instance an electric motor 12. Thus as the motor 12 is operated, the pulley 10 will rotate freely on the shaft 9, the foot treadle T through its flexible connection 25 operating the lever t to throw the clutch and operably connect the pulley 10 directly with the shaft 9. with the pulley 10 is a pulley-13, which thus rotates at alltimes with the pulley 10 so that power is transmitted therefrom through the belt 1 1 to the pulley 15 mounted upon the shaft 16 at the folding mechanism part of the present machine. It will thus be seen that as the pulley 10 is rotated by the motor 12, the shaft 16 will be rotated while the shaft 9 is rotated by the actuation of its clutch'mechanism so that the same will be operated when the blanks are being fed through the present machine simultaneously with the operation of the shaft 16. 1

v In operation, with the elcctric'motor 12 in motion and the pulley 1O clutched to the shaft 9, such shaft 9 is rotated and operates the feeding rollers 17 and the gum applying members 18, the blank being fed between such mechanism and receiving the gum, and when passing therebeyond, having the tape applied thereto, such gumming and taping I Keyed to rotate I v mechanism being particularly set forth in' my co-pending application filed Februaryoperates the sliding members 30 of the con-- veyer, as particularly set forth in my pending application filed February 10, 1914, Serial No. 817 ,852, so that the'said blank is delivered the full length of the conveyer by an intermittent action, and finally placed above the arms3l and against the limiting pins 32 of the folding mechanism 83. The detail structure .of the present folding mechanism 33 is particularly set forth in a copending application filed by me February 12, 1914, Serial No. 818,367.

In the structure above referred to, the lug 3t operated by the conveyor mechanism 23 operates upon its retraction a bell cranklever and through the operable connection 36 operates a clutch 37 to connect the disk 38 for rotation with the continually rotated shaft 16. This disk 38 has operably connected thereto, a bar 39 whose teeth -!0 en gage and rotate the shaft 41 which carries the pinion 42 which engages the vertically movable rack bar 43 to properly elevate the plunger 4 1 and permit its lowering at the proper time. Thus when the blank properly gummed and sized is'placed above the plunger 44; and held in suchposition by the fingers 31 and the pins 32 and at the time that the conveying mechanism is being moved from right to left, as viewed in Fig. 1, the plunger i t is elevated and carries with it, the blank through the folding de vices 45 to a point between the receiving and retaining means it; of the folding mechanism. Here the completed boxes B are nested one within the other and are directed as illustrated in full lines Fig. 1, and in dotted lines Fig. 2, so that after a predetermined number have been nested or telescoped, such boxes are placed upon the shelf 47 adjacent to and at the left of the shelf t of the present box making machine so that a single person standing in front of such shelves can feed the blanks to the gumming and taping mechanism by merely placing the same upon the shelf 4 in front of the feeding plate 5 and can count, inspect and remove the boxes in nested bunches from the shelf 4". It will thus be seen that the moment the blank is placed upon the shelf 4 to be fed by the feeder 5, that the operation from that point to the point of delivery of the finished box upon the shelf 4E7 is automatic, the conveyor mechanism 23 being of such a length as to permit of the proper evaporation of moisture in the gum to, when delivered to the folding 1nechanism,- be in the desired tacky condition or sized, so that when the plunger 44: of the folding devices &5 operate upon the blank, the gum will not be so compressed as to ooze beyond the edges and thus tend to cause the nested boxes B to be gummed together, it having been found in'practice that the boxes when delivered upon the shelf 47 are merely telescoped or to receive the finished box from the shelf at? at a point adjacent-to the inlet end of the present machine.

By mounting the machine upon a single base, it is evident that the operation of gum ming and taping, conveying and sizing, folding and delivery, is a continuous operation, the folding operation being rendered entirely automatic throughthe positioning of the blank above the plunger 44; and the retraction of the lug 3t of the conveyor mechanism 23. By this means, the plunger 1-1 has imparted thereto, an intermittmit a tion while the gunnning and taping mechanism through the pulley l0 and the shaft 9 is a continnous rotary action. By this assemblage in a single machine, of the blank feeding, gumming and taping, conveying, folding and lelivering mechanism. a great amount of time and labor is saved, inasmuch as a single operator. or at the most two operators, can feed and present the blanks upon the shelf 4 and receive, inspect and count the finished boxes in their telescoped and nested condi tion upon the shelf 47.

By reason of the fact that the retaining means 46 of the folding mechanism holds the first finished box to telescopically receive the next succeeding one, such boxes after a predetermined number have been nested are directed as indicated by the full and dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2 to a position upon the shelf 4-7, after which the nesting or telescoping of the boxes will without any other aid successively deliver the boxes to said shelf s? so that the same may be readily inspected and removed in bunches, thus dispensing with the manual nesting of such boxes as is the customary practice, in box making or folding machines of this character.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for making and nesting frusto-pyramidal boxes, including a blank feeding mechanism, a gumming mechanism disposed to receive the blank from the feeding mechanism and to move the same longitudinally of the machine, a conveying mechanism for receiving the gummed blank and for passing it longitudinally through the machine, a folding mechanism for receiving the blank from the conveying mechanism after the gum has sized sufficiently to permit pressure thereupon during the folding of the blank, and mechanism for holding the preceding folded box to receive the following folded box, whereby the boxes are nested successively.

:2. A machine for making and nesting frusto-pyramidal boxes, including a blank feeding mechanism, a gumming and taping mechanism disposed to receive the blank from the feeding mechanism and to move it longitudinally of the machine, a conveying mechanism for receiving the gummed and taped blank and for passing it longitudinally through the machine, a folding mechanism for receiving the gummed and taped blank from the conveying mechanism, the conveying mechanism being of a sufficient length to permit of the sizing of the gum during its movement from the gumming and taping mechanism to the folding mechanism, and mechanism for holding the preceding box to receive the following folded box, whereby the boxes are nested successively.

3. A box making machine, including a frame,.aprime mover mounted thereon, a gumming and taping mechanism operably connected to the prime mover, a blank feeding mechanism mounted to feed one blank ata time to the gumming and taping mechanism and operably connected to the gumming and taping mechanism, a conveying mechanism operably connected to the gumming and taping mechanism for receiving the gummed and taped blank, a continuously rotated shaft operably connected to the prime mover, a blank folding mechanism for receiving the blank from the conveying mechanism, and coopera-ble means carried by the continuously rotating shaft, the folding mechanism and the conveying mechanism to intermittently connect the folding mechanism to the continuously rotating shaft,

whereby the folding mechanism is operated in timed relation to the conveying mechanism.

4. A machine for making and nesting frusto-pyramidal boxes, including a base, a blank feeding mechanism, a shelf for holding the blanks preliminary to delivering to the feeding mechanism and also for receiving the finished boxes, a gumming mechanism disposed to receive the blanks from the feeding mechanism and to move the same longitudinally of the machine, a conveying mechanism for receiving the gummed blank and for passing it longitudinally of the ma chine, a folding mechanism for receiving the blank from the conveying mechanism after the gum is sized sufficiently to permit pres sure thereupon during the folding of the blank, and mechanism for holding the preceding folded box to receive the following folded box, and for guiding the nested boxes from the rear of the machine toward the shelf at the feeding end thereof.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myown, I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

4 HARRY A. INMAN.

WVitnes'ses:

C-rrAs'. E. HARDIEs, MARIE B. SNYDER. 

